Hymn Survey

Do you remember me mentioning the hymnal survey a while back? The GBOD conducted an internet survey as it prepares for the compilation of a new hymnal.

The results are in, and they can be found at this link.

What do I notice?

• People REALLY like Amazing Grace. Is it because we all know it? Or is it truly that it touches such a deep chord in all of us?
• I'm glad to see Be Thou My Vision among the favorites.
• Is it interesting that some of the same songs are listed as among the top 20 favorites AND the 20 least favorite hymns? Does that say anything to us about our congregations? Don't we need to realize that God reaches all of us in different ways?
• Some of my very favorite hymns made it onto the two top lists - top 20 from the hymnal and top 20 from The Faith We Sing.
• I wonder from the top three - five least favorite hymns that there was perhaps some external pressure exerted from more conservative groups to remove hymns which give God a feminine face. Perhaps I'm wrong?
• Silence, Frenzied Unclean Spirit is one of my least favorite hymns.
• I wonder if we should be singing more hymns than we do rather than repeating them so much.

Do you agree with the survey?